1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to water and soap dispensers for kitchen faucets and, more particularly, to a water/soap sprayer which includes a nozzle and handle combination, the handle including individual controls for water and detergent flow, a nozzle including a removable cleaning brush, the handle being further connected to a water source and a detergent source.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Since the invention of the dish, there has been a need for a simple and efficient way to clean them. Dish towels, sponges, rags, brushes, and steel wool have all been used for many years with varying degrees of success. With the advent of the dishwasher, many of the problems encountered in cleaning dishes were apparently solved. However, dishwashers to this day remain expensive and cannot be used in many older homes or apartments without major structural modification of the kitchen area. Also, there are numerous other cooking and serving devices which cannot be cleaned in a dishwasher, including electric frying devices, china, crystal, roasting pans, cookie sheets and assorted other dinnerware and cookware. Therefore, while a dishwasher remains one of the best dish cleaning tools available, there remains an unfulfilled need for a tool that can accompany a dishwasher or take the place of a dishwasher where no dishwasher is present. The search is thus continued for an easily operable and efficient cleaning device.
Several examples are found in the prior art which disclose improvements of dish cleaning devices. For example, Gottwald, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,662,768, discloses a hand held kitchen sink spray apparatus with cleaning attachments attached by a quick-release connector. Various brushes and nozzles may be fitted onto the head of the sprayer unit in order to provide different types of cleaning (i.e., water spray, brush, etc.) Several other patents found in the prior art also disclose sink sprayer heads and/or attachments thereto, including Shames, et al., U.S. Design Pat. No. 288,228 and Nicholson, U.S. Design Pat. No. 317,988. It should be noted that none of these references, however, include a means for dispensing soap from the cleaning device, thus requiring that the user of the device add soap from a soap dispenser or the like. There is therefore a need for a sink sprayer which will be capable of dispensing detergent soap in addition to dispensing water therefrom.
Improved attempts at solving the problem of washing dishes are found in the prior art also, including such devices as Manville, U.S. Pat. No. 2,508,958 and Weber, U.S. Pat. No. 2,540,064. Both of these inventions provide improvements over the dish washing devices found previously, yet each include inherent drawbacks. Specifically, while both Manville and Weber disclose dispensing means for liquid soap, neither device includes any means whatsoever to prevent water flow through the system except by turning off the water at the faucet or deactivating the diverter valve which is located on the faucet. This design flaw is unacceptable for several reasons, the most important being that when an individual is cleaning a dish within the sink, one hand will be supporting the dish itself while the other hand is using the cleaning device to clean the dish. As the majority of people in this world only have two hands, the individual cleaning the dish cannot shut off the water flow without setting the dish down. Of course, when the dish is set down, it may become dirty again if water remains in the sink, thus rendering the entire cleaning process meaningless. There is therefore a need for a sink sprayer which includes a cutoff valve for the water on the handle of the sink spray unit itself.
Finally, the position of any such cutoff valve for water on the handle of the sink sprayer unit must be such that it will not interfere with the dispensing of soap into the water stream. Many of the sprayers presently used include a water cutoff valve directly adjacent the nozzle of the sprayer unit. Clearly, the positioning of the water cutoff valve in such a manner would interfere with the placement of any detergent addition mechanism within the sprayer unit. There is therefore a need for a sprayer unit designed such that the water cutoff valve and detergent flow valve will not interfere with the operation of each other.
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an improved water/soap sprayer for kitchen faucets.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a water/soap sprayer for kitchen faucets which includes separate and individually operable water cutoff and detergent dispensing valves.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a water/soap sprayer for kitchen faucets which includes a detergent and water mixing chamber operative to enable the sprayer to dispense a water/detergent combination through a single nozzle.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a water/soap sprayer for kitchen faucets which can be quickly and easily fitted to existing faucets or can be installed on any faucet with a sprayer connection.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a water/soap sprayer for kitchen faucets in which the valves for the water cutoff and detergent dispenser may be operated by use of a single finger or thumb.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a water/soap sprayer for a kitchen faucet which includes a nozzle, a handle and two fluid delivery tubes extending into the handle end and connected, respectively, to a detergent dispensing repository position under the sink and a water dispensing spigot.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a water/soap sprayer for a kitchen faucet which includes a nozzle to which attachments may be removed or connected, including such devices as brushes, spray directors, and other such attachments.
Finally, an object of the present invention is to provide water/soap sprayer for a kitchen faucet which is relatively simple and inexpensive to manufacture and safe and efficient in use.